Eastern Bank Purchases 9,091 Shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM)

Eastern Bank grew its stake in shares of International Business Machines Co. (NYSE:IBM - Free Report) by 40.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,544 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 9,091 shares during the period. Eastern Bank's holdings in International Business Machines were worth $6,934,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of IBM. Ellenbecker Investment Group raised its position in shares of International Business Machines by 2.3% during the third quarter. Ellenbecker Investment Group now owns 2,049 shares of the technology company's stock worth $453,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Goldstein Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 4.0% in the third quarter. Goldstein Advisors LLC now owns 1,217 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $269,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Vertex Planning Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of International Business Machines by 3.6% during the third quarter. Vertex Planning Partners LLC now owns 1,346 shares of the technology company's stock worth $298,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Forza Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in International Business Machines by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Forza Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,153 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,891,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sollinda Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in International Business Machines by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sollinda Capital Management LLC now owns 1,360 shares of the technology company's stock worth $301,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Nickle Jaclyn Lamoreaux sold 3,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.20, for a total value of $774,720.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 25,390 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,463,928. This trade represents a 12.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.07% of the company's stock.

International Business Machines Stock Performance

IBM stock traded down $2.36 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $217.39. 3,710,249 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,214,279. International Business Machines Co. has a 1-year low of $162.62 and a 1-year high of $239.35. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $222.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $209.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $201.01 billion, a PE ratio of 31.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.18 and a beta of 0.74.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $14.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.08 billion. International Business Machines had a net margin of 10.22% and a return on equity of 40.52%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.20 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that International Business Machines Co. will post 10.12 earnings per share for the current year.

International Business Machines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were paid a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.07%. International Business Machines's payout ratio is 97.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on IBM. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of International Business Machines in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on International Business Machines from $205.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $209.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of International Business Machines from $220.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of International Business Machines from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $214.88.

About International Business Machines

International Business Machines Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated solutions and services worldwide. The company operates through Software, Consulting, Infrastructure, and Financing segments. The Software segment offers a hybrid cloud and AI platforms that allows clients to realize their digital and AI transformations across the applications, data, and environments in which they operate.